Manchester’s iconic Victoria Baths has announced it will be reopening its doors for the first time in over six months as it welcomes visitors to its Festive Winter Fair.
If you’re looking to get a spot of Christmas shopping done early, there couldn’t be a more perfect opportunity.
Taking place over two weekends next month, there’ll be up to 30 stalls at the Festive Winter Fair – handpicked by Victoria Baths’ Events Team – selling a variety of art, jewellery, ceramics, homewares and festive decorations, with shoppers being able purchase items from some of the highest-quality makers in the Manchester area.
Victoria Baths will also have its very own stall, with everything from stocking fillers, to fine art, which are all inspired by the building and its history.
And of course, the vast spaces of this Grade II listed building make it perfect for a winter fair 2020-style.
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The Festive Winter Fair gives everyone the chance to “shop local” and support independent creative traders at the end of what has been a very tough year for small businesses, and for added festive cheer, mulled wine and mince pies will be amongst the treats on offer in the Tea Room, where visitors will enjoy a warm welcome from the Baths’ team of award-winning volunteers.
It also comes just in time for those finalising their Christmas lists too.
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Victoria Baths
In order to ensure the event is as COVID-secure as it can possibly be, timed entry tickets, capped visitor numbers, signposted one-way routes, hand sanitiser stations, friendly volunteer ushers and more, will all be in place to ensure a relaxed and safe visitor experience.
Speaking on the COVID-secure measures in place, Victoria Baths said: “The safety of visitors, staff and volunteers is our top priority and we’ll be keeping up with and following all government and local guidelines. We’ve spread the Fair over two weekends and released a very limited number of tickets for each time slot, so it might feel quiet, but that’s to make sure there’s plenty of space for social distancing.”
Elizabeth Sibbering – Operations Manager at Victoria Baths – added: “We’re delighted to be opening our doors again, for what has to be one of our favourite events of the year.
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“The beautiful tiles and stained glass found throughout the building make a really stunning backdrop to all the maker’s stalls. There’s lots of spaces for people to explore – including the Turkish Baths suite and two of the former swimming pools, despite some areas needing to be closed for Covid safety reasons – and we aren’t dependent upon the weather.
“Victoria Baths is incredibly lucky to have had such amazing support over the years, from those who campaigned to save this building, right through to those who’ve helped us to face the many challenges of 2020 [so] this event will be an opportunity for those who love Victoria Baths as much as we do to enjoy spending some time in one of Manchester’s favourite buildings.”
Victoria Baths / Bernadette Delaney
The Festive Winter Fair at Victoria Baths takes place on Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th November, and Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd November from 10:30am – 4:30pm.
Entry to the Festive Winter Fair is by pre-booked ticket only:
Adults – £3
Under 16s and ‘Friends of Victoria Baths’ – FREE
All the money raised from Victoria Baths’ events goes toward helping to keep the beautiful and historic building open for everyone to enjoy.
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As per government guidelines under Tier 3 restrictions, you must only attend as a group of up to six people in your own household or support bubble, and it’s also worth noting that the building isn’t heated, so it’s vital you wrap up warm for the event as it is often just as cold inside as it is outside.
Last entry to the fair is at 3pm, and the building will close at 4.30pm.
You can book you tickets here, and for more further information, visit the Victoria Baths website here.
What's On
Manchester City have announced a special away day fan zone for festive fixture
Danny Jones
In a real added bonus for away fans making the roughly two-hour journey to their only fixture over the festive period, travelling Man City supporters are being treated to a dedicated away-day fan zone for their upcoming game against Nottingham Forest.
Now this is the kind of backing we want to see from big teams.
That’s right, for those visiting Nottingham for the meeting against the fellow Premier League side and one-time European Cup winners, Manchester City will be putting on a special and exclusive fan zone.
Confirmed on Christmas Eve ahead of the match this coming Saturday, 27 December, the club revealed a quick glimpse of the pop-up supporters’ park.
As detailed in the announcement, the public events space known as ‘The Nest’ will be open exclusively to away-ticket holders heading to the City Ground.
Perfect for a quick pit-stop before and after the clash, the venue is one of the closest you’ll find to the stadium itself and, better still, is located roughly just a 10-minute walk away from the railway station.
There will be a huge bar offering a wide selection of alcoholic and soft drinks, plus plenty of street food to enjoy. Here’s hoping the players don’t indulge in too many of those this Christmas, especially following Pep Guardiola’s ‘fatty’ comments.
They kick off at 12:30pm, but will everyone make the weight?…
Once again, Man City have advertised this as an away-day ticket-holder-only event, so we would probably call ahead and double-check if you’re a Blue who just so happens to live/be in the area and want to go along.
It also goes without saying that this will serve as an ideal and presumably trouble-free place to celebrate after the result, as it’s a strictly sky-blue event and we’d wager the title contenders and serial trophy winners to come out on top.
So, if you needed any extra assurance that making the approximately 81-mile trip to Nottingham, we’d say potentially going top at Christmas and cheersing a few pints with your mates on a would-be concourse designed just for you is plenty of added motivation.
As for those of you staying firmly in Greater Manchester this holiday season, there’s no reason you can’t still have a little away day of your own:
Featured Images — Manchester City (via X)/The Manc Group
What's On
10 of the very best British Christmas specials and episodes to watch on TV this holiday season
Danny Jones
‘Tis the season to sit on your backside and do nothing but gorge on mountains of food and watch TV for hours on end as you make your way through all the Christmas specials and best of British telly you can muster.
Now, there’s nothing worse than when it feels like there’s nothing on you’re stranded in that spot on the sofa that’s too comfy to vacate, so that’s where we come in.
Along with all the usual stuff you’ll find in the TV guide at this time of year, we thought we’d round up some of the very best Christmas specials made here in the UK and Ireland to have ever aired – that way, you’ll have a steady supply of festive viewing and barely need to move an inch.
In no particular order, let’s get stuck into it, shall we?
The best British Christmas TV specials of all time
Where else to start than with the pride of Wales and a series that millions watch from start to finish every year? Gavin & Stacey.
Still revered as one of the most beloved comedies to ever come out of the UK, their two festive specials are also part and parcel (pardon the pun) of many Brits’ Christmas.
It still feels a bit weird going back and watching Corden as Smithy before the days of American fame, that first Nessa entrance; Uncle Bryn being, well, Bryn – even the soundtrack takes us back – but after the huge success of last year’s Gavin & Stacey finale, we’re ready to cry buckets all over again.
9. The Office – ‘Christmas Special’ (Part 1 and 2)
Next up is not only this particular telephile’s ultimate Christmas TV event but possibly one of the very best episodes of British telly in history. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant broke new ground with this genre-defining comedy, and while they fine-tuned cringe throughout the series, this was pure heart.
Rom-com juggernaut Richard Curtis dubbed this two-part Christmas special spread across just 96 minutes as the culmination of what he believed to be “one of the great romantic stories of all time” between Tim and Dawn, and the perfect end to a “masterpiece”.
You’ll hear no arguments from us.
Is it the best Christmas special in British TV history?
8. The Royle Family – Christmas Specials (1999, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012)
Another classic not only British but fundamentally Manc comedy, The Royle Family might just be one of the best things Greater Manchester ever produced – and that’s saying something – and perfectly captures the comfortable monotony of sitting in front of the telly for hours on end.
That goes doubly so for the multiple Christmas specials, of which there are many and while they all do a great job of creating that familiar feeling of a Northern front room that the series was so good at throughout its entire run, the 1999 Christmas with the Royle Family special where the late great Caroline Aherne’s water breaks and that tear-jerking scene with Ricky Tomlinson…
It gets us every time.
Set just down the road in Wythenshawe, it still has us weeping just as much now as it did back in the day.
7. Peep Show – ‘Seasonal Beatings’
Cauliflower may or may not be traditional, but one thing we can agree on is that watching Peep Show‘s hilariously miserable, ill-mannered, tense, ever-awkward and bloody brilliant Christmas episode from 2010 is very much part of our annual holiday ritual.
The fifth episode of the seventh season – which many would rightly champion as peak-era Peep Show – may only last less than half an hour, but it feels like an eternity of familiar festive agony and walking on eggshells before the fantastic crescendo that is Mark pouring gravy into a shredder.
‘Merry Chris-Mark!’
If you don’t think Peep Show’s Christmas special/festive episode is one of the best in British TV history, you’re just wrong, sorry.
6. Ted Lasso – ‘Carol of the Bells’
Approaching the halfway mark, and we’re going to be somewhat controversial and introduce not only a very contemporary pick but one that isn’t technically a UK production, but the show is set entirely in England, and if there’s one thing it has tried to be since the start, it’s almost too cookie-cutter British
Now, we’re going to qualify that we have a weird relationship with Ted Lasso; it’s by no means the funniest thing we’ve ever seen, and the broad-strokes American look at football is frustrating at times, but one thing this show does do well is being deeply sincere, and never more so than in its Xmas special.
Plus, you get to hear Hannah Waddingham sing her pipes off – what’s not to like?
Christmas is about reminding your loved ones how much they mean – regardless of what you make of the show, this episode nails that.
5. Extras – Christmas Special (Part 1 and 2)
Our penultimate pick is also our second Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant creation: the Extras Christmas special, which aired back in 2007 and still has some of the funniest gags in the history of British TV as far as we’re concerned.
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Managing to rope in even more big names for this equally cringeworthy and even painful to watch at times conclusion to the show, which also ran for just two series like The Office, the frustrating arc of Gervais’ main character Andy Millman is such a great payoff when all is said and done.
Only an hour and a half in total, well worth sticking on if you’ve never seen it before.
Just look at how many famous faces they managed to rope in for this fantastic two-parter. (Credit: Press Image via BBC)
4. Doctor Who – ‘End of Time’ (Part 1 and 2)
From a David Tennant cameo to him in arguably one of his greatest-ever performances in his final full-time appearance as the space-travelling Time Lord in what we are officially declaring the best Doctor Who Christmas special to date, and some of Russell T. Davies’ very best work.
It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly 15 whole years since the national treasure said goodbye to the role in the gut-wrenching two-parter, which also saw the return of John Simm as ‘The Master’, but we’re still confident that there hasn’t been a better Xmas/New Year’s Day special pairing than the one below.
Here’s hoping RTD’s recent comeback will see a return to form by the next one in December 2026.
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That delivery of ‘I don’t wanna go’ still makes us well up.
As we gradually approach the end of our list, we want to give so much deserved love to what we think isn’t just the underdog of British telly but an unsung hero when it comes to spotlighting friendship, positive male relationships and downright fraternal love.
It’s Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Finishing – the festive editions. We know we’re biased, but we really love the one with Paul Heaton. If you’ve ever sat down to watch an episode of this laid-back, laughter-filled show, you’ll know that these two can often achieve that warm, heartfelt and cosy feeling regardless of whether it’s Christmas or not.
It’s also a great antidote to any latent toxic masculinity left on screen, and with some serious emotion being laid bare in these Christmas special episodes, especially for us, this is what reality TV should be. We’re already looking forward to the next instalment at 9pm on Christmas Eve.
— Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing (@MWGoneFishing) December 22, 2025
2. Click & Collect
Ok, we promise this is the last Merchant mention on this list, as we’re intensely aware of some bias on our end, but this straight-to-TV BBC short film really took us by surprise when we first saw it and is well worth setting aside a nice round hour to enjoy.
Not only does the core premise feel like a very relatable scenario for many parents rushing to sort out everyone’s Christmas presents in time, but it’s a touching tale of family, kindness and sparing that extra bit of patience during what can be a tough time of year for lots of people.
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Trust us, you’ll love it.
Asim Chaudhry is fantastic.
1. Only Fools & Horses – ‘Heroes and Villains’
And finally, what better place to round off this list than with only the series consistently voted the greatest British comedy of all time, but the episode that is widely considered its best-ever Christmas special? It can only be Del Boy and Rodney dressed up as Batman and Robin in ‘Heroes and Villains’.
Now, there is a whopping total of 18 Only Fools Christmas specials, and we’re sure everyone has their own personal favourite, but surely there isn’t a single one more iconic than the first episode of the legendary 1996 festive trilogy.
It also sets up events for ‘Time on Our Hands’, one of the most moving scripts they ever wrote – but it all starts with the much-loved duo plodding through the mist in capes.
It’s still regarded as the best British comedy ever, but where does it rank on the list of all-time greatest Christmas TV specials?
A very Christmas special mention…
Father Ted – ‘A Christmassy Ted’
Not technically British, we know, but the cult Irish hit remains one of the funniest comedies to ever come out of our corner of the world, and if you’ve never seen Ted, Dougal and a bunch of other clergymen get stuck in a women’s lingerie section like it’s a warzone, you’re seriously missing out.
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Mrs Doyle is her typical quick-witted self, and Father Jack can be found making the occasional outburst from his chair as usual and overall, ‘A Christmassy Ted’ is a very funny bit of seasonal telly.
Not strictly British but still one of the best Christmas specials in TV history if you ask us.
Come on, you have to agree – we absolutely smashed that.
Some old, some new, some maybe a little bit out of left field, but all absolutely guaranteed to keep you entertained this festive period.
If you think we’ve made the cardinal sin of missing an all-time TV great, then please feel free to give it to us in the comments and educate us on the best British Christmas specials.
In fact, one of our other writers, Emily, has forced me to add a line about The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Specials too… so here’s the line. You can also find her round-up of all the best new bits coming to the box this holiday season down below.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd October 2020 
